between the raindrops
by russelled
Summary: He was damaged, physically and mentally, from an explosion while serving in Afghanistan. She, to the dismay of her family and friends, was wasting her apparent potential in a career that kept her constantly moving. Neither were in a position or even looking for something serious, but often, fate has other plans. "Cause people can surprise you… or not." [TG]


Her rolling suitcase clicked and her patent leather heels clacked on the linoleum floors, as she raced through the busy terminal of Reagan National, determined to get to her gate and avoid being reprimanded for being slightly late. She made a beeline through the passengers, not having enough time to play her usual game of "find the experienced travelers and find the nervous newbies."

Gabriella Montez barely looked up at the gate numbers in the terminal, having been at the airport enough times to know exactly where she needed to be headed. It was a benefit to working in the industry as a flight attendant; she was very familiar with the airports that her company flew in and out of the most. It became useful on days like today, when she was running behind and did not have time to stop and check more maps and signs around the airport; she knew exactly where she was headed.

She passed by the final grouping of airport stores that included a "news stand," Starbucks, and a little half-assed deli for passengers in the mood for mediocre sandwiches and smiled as she realized she was going to make it just in time, as long as she kept taking as long of strides as her petite legs and three-inch part-of-her-uniform heels would allow for her. She was almost to her office, the Boeing aircraft that would take her from Washington D.C. to Dallas-Forth Worth, where she would get a very rare—especially for someone low on the seniority chain like she was—ten days off before her next series of reserve days began.

Gabriella turned into the boarding area of the assigned gate and began her usual preflight ritual of running through the speech given as a flight was preparing for takeoff. It was not a nervous habit, as Gabriella loved flying as much as anybody, but she always liked to be prepared in case she was the attendant who would be leading the safety instructions.

She looked around and took in the full area of passengers, mentally noting that it was going to be a full flight to Texas, before approaching the counter, to check in.

"Hello, Gabriella," Peggy, the grey-haired woman who had worked with the airlines for thirty-plus years and loved to rub her superiority in younger flight attendants' faces, greeted her with a condescending smile. "Nice of you to show up on time."

"…_To fasten, insert the metal fitting into the buckle, adjust to fit snugly with the loose end of the strap and simply lift the buckle release to unfasten…"_

"Good morning, Peggy," Gabriella replied, with a forced smile that was only necessary around unpleasant passengers and of course, Peggy. "I'm just happy to head home and have a nice, long break." It was an unprofessional remark to make, but Gabriella couldn't help but rub in Peggy's face that she had managed to snag a rotation that was usually only saved for those who had been in the company for as long as Peggy.

Peggy handed Gabriella's documents back, trying to avoid making her disgust with the brunette evident with all the customers around. "Have a nice flight, Miss Montez."

Gabriella gave her once last smile before grabbing her luggage and headed down the jet bridge to put her carryon away and get ready for the first passengers to board.

"…_If you are traveling with children, or are seated next to someone who needs assistance, place the mask on yourself first, then offer assistance…"_

"Hey, Gabi! We're on a flight together!" Gabriella smiled as she saw her coworker and friend, Tiara Gold, at the door of the plane.

"Hi, T," Gabriella greeted, catching up to the tall blonde.

Tiara had been hired by the airline at the same time Gabriella had and they had both been relocated to the Fort Worth base, allowing them to become close as they went through training. Even though Tiara was a much more high maintenance personality compared to Gabriella, the two were close, as Tiara reminded Gabriella of one of her closest non-work friends and as they found out, it was the same for Tiara with Gabriella. Working a flight with Tiara was always fun, as the blonde was very good at picking up on passenger gossip and finding out information and would always share with Gabriella.

"You got Business Class today," Tiara informed her friend. "Todd wants to talk to you. There's a _special_ passenger."

Gabriella nodded, heading into the airplane and quickly putting her luggage in the flight attendant carry-on spot before going to find Todd, one of the other flight attendants and a supervisor. It wasn't the first time she was going to deal with a "special passenger." Many famous people often traveled on normal flights and they were used to giving the best possible service and also ensuring that the other passengers did not bother them. She found him doing a final check to make sure the food and drink carts would be ready for the mid-flight snack.

"Hey, Todd, Tiara says we have a special passenger?" Gabriella questioned.

Todd turned around and stared at her. "That girl always gets all the information out even when it does not pertain to her," he commented, even though she knew that he often enjoyed Tiara's customer gossip. He was just more discreet about it. "But yeah, he's a military vet. The company upgraded his ticket to Business Class so you know, treat him really well but try not to make it too obvious to other passengers. You're good with that stuff, Montez. That's why you're up there today."

Gabriella nodded. "Of course, Sir." She had a knack for making customers feel at ease with flying and it was something that always came back to her in both verbal and written compliments from those flying.

"That's my girl," Todd grinned. Gabriella turned on her heel to head back up to the front to be ready for the boarding. "Oh, hey, Montez, they said he's disabled too, so keep that in mind. I'm sure he's been through some shit. Flying is probably a pain in the ass for him. But he'll be on first so you can just talk to him and whatever. Make him feel at ease."

Gabriella nodded in understanding. "Got it." She went back up to the front, ready to help him get situated while boarding. Her heart raced slightly, nervous at the expectations suddenly placed on her, but she knew it was a good thing and getting an opportunity like this was rare with her experience level and she wanted to prove herself that she was worthy of more opportunities like this. It could help propel her career and give her more credibility with the senior workers, like Peggy, who looked down on her for her youthfulness.

"…_In preparation for takeoff, please ensure that your seat backs and tray tables are in their full upright and stowed positions, your seat belts are securely fastened and all your carry-on items are securely stowed…"_

"Hi, Gabriella," one of the captains greeted her as she got back to the front of the plane.

"Hey, Cap, going to be an easy travel day?" she asked curiously.

The Captain nodded. "No weather to worry about from here to Texas," he answered. "Nice for February. You up in Business Class?" She nodded. She made a little more small talk before heading back up the jet bridge to see what kind of assistance the passenger would need.

She opened up the door and was a bit surprised by the young guy standing at the counter. In her mind, she had been expecting someone older and started to feel bad for the guy. She watched him smile shyly at Peggy and then walk towards her, with a fairly noticeable limp. She straightened up and gave a smile when he caught her eye, and she couldn't help but take in his appearance. He was a lot taller than her, most likely being a few inches above six-feet, and had a muscular build. His features were somewhat young looking, especially with his shaggy light brown hair that was pushed down under a San Francisco 49ers hat and blue eyes. Her first thought was on how attractive she thought she was but once he was in front of her, staring down at her, she pushed it aside, focusing on remaining professional.

"Welcome to Flight 2475," she stated formally. "Thank you for choosing American Airlines. I'm Gabi and if you need anything…"

He narrowed his eyes. "Oh, so that's the stipulation of the upgrade," he muttered, cutting her off in the middle of her spiel. "I get a babysitter. Of course." Her face fell instantly. "Look, uh, I'll take my original seat if it means I don't get treated like a fucking invalid."

"Sir, I apologize," Gabriella quickly countered, composing herself quickly. "I'm not here to babysit; I just was making sure you didn't need any assistance with getting on the plane and situated."

"I'm good," he told her flatly, going around her and continuing down to the plane. She trailed behind, rethinking her plans for making his flight more relaxed.

His seat was in the second row, the aisle seat, so she didn't have to follow him on the plane too far. She watched silently as he shoved his duffel bag into the compartment and then sat down in the seat. He frowned down at how his legs had stretched out and bit down on his lip while he readjusted them with his hands. Sighing, he pulled out his phone before finally looking up at Gabriella again.

"I really don't need anything or any help," he said sharply. "You don't have to hover over me."

She nodded. "I just wanted to offer you a complimentary beverage for the inconvenience I may have caused earlier," she stated formally. "You can have a drink before the flight takes off anyways, but it's free."

"Any drink?" he questioned. "Like not just the complimentary soda everyone gets mid-flight?"

"Any," she confirmed. She pointed towards the flap in the back of the seat in front of him. "Our available options are in the magazine."

"I want… a rum and coke?" It came out as a question, like he was testing her to see if it was actually going to happen or if she was going to retract the offer, as it was only nine in the morning.

Gabriella nodded. "I'll go get that for you." She went to go make the drink and quickly returned with it. "Here you go."

He took it and took a small sip of it. "Thanks." He looked down at his iPhone, reading something on it before looking up at her. She had moved away slightly, but was still lingering in the area, as there wasn't much free space to work with in the plane to avoid someone. "I'm sorry," he mumbled, looking down at his phone again. "You're just trying to be helpful and I forget that there's nothing wrong with allowing someone to help me if they offer."

Gabriella pointed at his phone. "Who told you to say that?" she asked, hoping her tone came off as teasingly as she meant it to.

He cracked a grin in response. "My best friend, but it sounds like something his fiancée would say," he admitted. "My friend told me to not be a dick to flight attendants."

Gabriella moved aside, as more passengers began to board. "He's right; you shouldn't," she agreed simply, before approaching the other Business Class passengers that were already sitting down and seeing if they wanted anything to drink.

* * *

"So… was your flight good?"

Troy Bolton turned his head from looking out the window of the Nissan Pathfinder his best friend drove, having been distracted enough by checking out the Texas area he now called home to not realize that neither of his two friends had said anything to him since initially greeting him and picking him up at the Dallas-Fort Worth airport.

"It was fine," he said shortly. "Pretty uneventful."

"We're going to meet up for dinner with Sharpay, Sharpay's boyfriend Zeke, and then one of our other friends later on," Taylor McKessie informed him from her spot in the backseat. "Anything you want to do before that?"

He shrugged. "Not really."

He tried to block them out again, returning to staring out the window as he thought about the flight attendant. Sure, she had started off somewhat overbearing and he had gotten defensive, thinking she was going to treat him like most people did now, but after that, she seemed pretty cool and she was hot, even in the traditional flight attendant uniform. Whenever she came over to check up on him during the three-hour flight, he couldn't help but wonder what she looked like in different clothes or no clothes at all. Before the injury, he would've had no problem making more of an impression with her and getting her number by the end of the flight. Now, he figured that she either had a boyfriend or as he had seen with some of her expressions, she felt bad for him and he didn't want that. Not that it even mattered, as he wasn't going to see her again.

"Troy, cut it out," Chad Danforth commented from the driver's seat, interrupting Troy's thoughts. Troy glanced over at him, his eyes narrowed. "You can't shut people out. You know that."

"Chill the fuck out, Chad," Troy snapped back instinctively. "I don't have anything to say. Airplanes aren't exactly made for tall crippled guys. _They_ hurt." He gestured down at his legs, which effectively ended the conversation.

Troy turned back to looking at the window, but not before catching the exchanged look between Chad and Taylor in the rear view mirror, an obvious sign of the two of them having a mental conversation about him. He was grateful for them, especially since they agreed to share their townhouse with him while he had a "trial run" of living in Texas and he made a mental reminder to later apologize for his attitude issues, the second apology of that sort for the day and it was still early. But he would do that later and not when he was frustrated from traveling, his body, and a missed chance.

Getting tired of his thoughts, he focused back on the surroundings again and made a fist with his right hand and released it repeatedly, trying to do something that at least was beneficial to him instead.

* * *

A few hours later, after a needed lay-in-bed-and-do-nothing period, making the latest apology round, and getting ready to go out, Troy ended up at a small Tex-Mex restaurant/bar called Juan's with Chad and Taylor, one that was apparently the group's. Shortly after they arrived, Sharpay Evans and her boyfriend Zeke Baylor came and he had to deal with Sharpay's emotional and dramatic greeting, even though it hadn't even been two months since the two couples had flown out to see Troy. Once Sharpay had been pried off Troy, he and Zeke exchanged a less spectacular greeting, consisting solely of a bro-hug, as the two had only met for the first time in that last visit.

Troy liked Zeke and was glad he was going to get a chance to know the pastry chef a little bit better. Zeke was laid back and a good balance to Sharpay's personality and when they had met, he never even once asked anything about Troy's injuries or the incident. He just wanted to talk about football and basketball.

The gang gathered around the table, the empty spot for the final mystery member falling between Troy and Sharpay at the large circular table. The members that were there, however, had already jumped quickly into ordering their drinks and a chips and salsa appetizer, the girls both opting for frozen strawberry margaritas, Chad and Zeke both getting "the best of both worlds" with Corona-itas, and Troy keeping it simple with just a Corona.

"So have you heard from Gabs?" Chad asked, looking at his fiancée. "She's usually more on time."

"She texted me when she left," Taylor answered. "She'll be here soon. Why are you so excited about seeing her?"

"I just think it's cool we're going to have an even group, three guys and three girls," Chad shrugged. He jabbed his thumb in Troy's direction. "Now that Troy's here. Plus she's never met him."

"How _was_ your flight, Troy?" Sharpay asked. He had been content with just reading his menu and deciding what to order, and trying to figure out the dynamic of the group as the last time he had lived in the same city as his two best friends had been when they were in high school. Many things had changed in the six years since then, and he had to figure out exactly where he belonged in their new lives.

"It was fine, just a typical flight," he answered. "I got upgraded to first class. That was cool, I guess."

Sharpay was about to respond, but the door to the restaurant opened and she whipped her head around to see who came in. "Gabi!" she yelled excitedly, jumping from her seat and rushing over to the girl, Taylor trailing behind with a little less enthusiasm.

The two girls' significant others just laughed, obviously used to seeing that sort of reaction. "They always act like that when Gabi comes homes," Chad explained offhandedly to Troy.

Troy reached for his beer silently, taking a long swig. He was about to ask what the girl did, where she was apparently gone a lot, but Taylor and Sharpay were dragging her back to the table as the three all talked animatedly. He looked up at her, freezing up instantly upon recognizing her…the flight attendant. Her wavy dark brown hair was down and she had traded her stuffy uniform for black leggings, an oversized crème sweater, and black ankle boots.

"Troy, this is our friend, Gabriella," Sharpay introduced the two instantly. She squeezed Gabriella's arm. "Gabi, this is my best friend and big brother and hero, Troysie." She rolled her eyes. "Of course, he prefers Troy."

Gabriella smiled at him, one that was much more genuine than the professional smiles she gave on the plane. "Hey, it's you again," she said casually.

The group of friends looked between the two, all wondering how their two friends had met before. The focus then turned to Troy, waiting to see if his response would give any information, since as far as they knew, there weren't many places their paths could've crossed in six years.

"Uh, yeah, hey."

/tbc

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